Last year Suzy and I were told of a Buddhist Monastery that took care of endangered Tigers by our good friend Admiral Red Best. This year we set out to find the Monastery and see just how much truth there was to the story. We found that the temple is real, the Monks are real and the story quite interesting. In 1994 an injured tiger cub was given to the temple to care for, unfortunately it later died. Subsequently as villagers found additional Tiger cubs, they were brought to the temple for care. By 1999 there were 8 Tigers and by breeding, the number of 
Tigers grew to 145 by 2015.
Some say these Tigers are exploited, mistreated and drugged for tourist purposes but in December 2006, ABC News spent three days at the temple and did not see any evidence of drugging or mistreating the animals.
Both Thai and Western employees who were interviewed claimed that the animals were well treated. The abbot of the monastery stated that the eventual goal was to breed tigers for release in the wild but DNA evidence of the Tigers pedigree is to date inconclusive. Most Tigers are thought to be Indochinese except for “Mek” who is a Bengal Tiger. Regardless of the Temples history, Suzy and I felt that the Tigers were quite pampered as every day they are walked to a custom built “Tiger Canyon” and allowed to bathe in the water and intermingle with tourists. 
In the photo you can see Suzy walking one of the Tigers to the Canyon. We both have found this Temple to be a once in a lifetime opportunity to walk among Tigers and enjoy their majesty face to face. The Tigers seem to be unbothered by human presence and go about their business as they please. If you happen to be in Thailand, we highly recommend making the 100 mile detour in Bangkok and visiting the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi.